MIL LION
CHILDREN ARE EXPLOITED EVERY YEAR IN THE GLOBAL COMMERCIAL SEX TRADE*
*UNICEF, Children Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Reach; Abused and Neglected, Millions of Children Have Become Virtually Invisible (Dec. 2005).
To combat these horrific crimes, the United States enacted the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, the Protect Act, and Masha’s Law. Despite the protections offered under these laws, the prosecution of child sex trafficking and child sex tourism remains exceedingly difficult. The illicit nature of the crimes, the lack of transnational cooperation, and the limited reach of U.S. law enforcement all make it difficult for child sex trafficking and child sex tourism to be detected, much less prosecuted.
Despite these odds, Paniya Vang, a courageous young woman who was only 14 years old at the time of her rape, advocated for herself to obtain a landmark jury verdict that raised awareness of this horrific practice and sent a resounding message to child sex traffickers and child sex tourists that they will be held accountable. Vang was represented pro bono by Patrick Arenz, partner at Robins Kaplan, and Linda Miller, founder and executive director of Civil Society, a Minnesota- based nonprofit that represents victims of human trafficking, sexual assault, and abuse.
In early 2006, Vang was put in touch with Thiawachu Prataya, a middle-aged American citizen and resident of Minneapolis. After numerous phone conversations, Vang traveled 12 hours to Vientiane, Laos, to meet Prataya under false pretenses. Soon after meeting Prataya, Vang was locked in a hotel room and brutally raped several times by Prataya. Following her assault, Vang was coerced into a cultural marriage with Prataya. She was just 14 at the time.
10
PANIYA CONTD.
CONTD. PG. 12